Thailand Flag Meaning

The flag
of Thailand is one of the most distinct flags in the
world’s flags; although it has an ordinary look, its
history is very interesting.

There
are stripes on the flag, in horizontal shapes of white,
blue and red colours.

A strong
symbolism is contained by the Thai flag; the three
colours are symbols of the religion, king and
nation. The flag was adopted in 1917, on September
28. In the Thai language the flag has the name Thong
Trairong or Triaranga which means the tricolour.

King
Rama IV (Mongkut) made the first Thai flag, in 1855;
the flag had a white elephant and wasn’t unique.

In 1916
the flag was designed in the actual model, excepting
the middle colour that was red.

This
important change happened at the initiative of the
King Rama VI (Vajiravudh); he saw a Thai flag
positioned upside down and took the decision of
changing the design immediately in order to avoid
this mistake to happen again. The flag’s
middle colour was changed from red to blue, in 1917, the
blue colour representing the King Vajiravudh’s birthday.

Thailand
first flag was red, used for Siam and during the
king Narai’s reign (1656-1688). There were also
flags used in naval purposes; these flags were also
red and with various symbols.

One of the most common
symbols was a white chakra, which is a symbol of the
Buddhist wheel; other symbols were a white disc and
a sun or a white elephant in chakra. The Royal Thai
Navy is the emblem of the national flag and is
situated in centre.

Costa
Rica has a national flag that looks very much like
the national flag of Thailand. Regarding the
Thailand flag meaning, the red stripes are the
symbol of the blood that was spilt to keep the
independence of the country.

The white symbolises
the purity and is also the Buddhism’s colour, this
religion being the principal religion of Thailand.
The blue is the symbol of the monarchy and also the
national colour of Thailand.

This colour also
honours the country’s allies in the World War II: Russia,
Great Britain, United States and France, all these countries
used to have flags with blue, white and red.

One
interesting fact about the Thailand flag is that in
1939 the country became Thailand from Siam and the
flag was kept the same even after the country’s
alliance with Japan in the World War II.

It is
forbidden to show any form of disrespect to the Thai
flag.

The
function or the act of raising the flag on a rope is
called hoist.

The Thai
flag must never be used, displayed, stored or
fastened in manners that would damage it somehow.

The flag
must be hoisted and then lowered.

It
is forbidden to display one nation’s flag above
other flag. It is not allowed to attach any letter,
design, mark, picture, insignia, word, drawing on
the Thai flag.

If a flag is in
a deteriorate shape it must not be destroyed in an
undignified way.